Revisiting Effectively Maintained Inequality in Educational Transitions: The Case of South Korea
Open Access
- Author:
- Kim, Ji Hye
- Graduate Program:
- Educational Theory and Policy
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 15, 2021
- Committee Members:
- Soo-Yong Byun, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Soo-Yong Byun, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
David P Baker, Committee Member
Kelly Ochs Rosinger, Committee Member
Liying Luo, Outside Member
Kevin Kinser, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- effectively maintained inequality (EMI)
educational transition
tracking
South Korea
effectively maintained inequality (EMI)
educational transition
tracking
South Korea
effectively maintained inequality (EMI)
educational transition
tracking
South Korea - Abstract:
- The expansion and universalization of educational opportunities in many parts of the world raised expectations that education inequality could be alleviated. Contrary to expectations, however, empirical evidence on educational inequality has been revealed. This is because qualitative differentiation of education programs at a certain level of education differentiates students' educational experiences, despite expanding access to the education opportunities at the given level of education, according to the effectively maintained inequality (EMI) hypothesis proposed by Lucas (2001). The EMI hypothesis assumes a situation in which education at a certain level has become universal, resulting in quantitative differences being replaced with qualitative differences (Lucas, 2001). In this regard, South Korea is an excellent case for testing the EMI hypothesis at both secondary and higher education levels because of its almost universal enrollment rates even at the postsecondary level and highly differentiated systems, especially at the upper secondary and postsecondary levels. Thus, this study examined socioeconomic disparities in educational transitions from the upper secondary level to higher education, intending to test the EMI hypothesis's relevance in the Korean context. In specific, this study delved into three research questions: 1) How do students' educational transitions from middle schools to high schools vary by parental socioeconomic status (SES)? 2) How do students' educational transitions from high schools to higher education vary by parental SES? For this purpose, this study considered three different types of high schools (i.e., selective academic high schools, non-selective academic high schools, and vocational high schools) and four different types of college enrollment (i.e., 4-year university in the capital area, 4-year university in the non-capital area, 2-year junior colleges, and no college enrollment), considering the horizontal diversification in the upper secondary and higher education in South Korea. Using nationally representative data of 7th-grade students in South Korea, this study showed several mixed findings as follows. First, in terms of the transition from middle schools to high schools, results from the regression models showed significant socioeconomic disparities in attending more selective high schools (i.e., selective academic > non-selective academic > vocational high schools), even after controlling for students’ academic achievement. However, EMI testing based on the predicted probabilities showed that even the disadvantaged students in Korea typically went to non-selective academic high schools rather than vocational high schools, questioning the relevance of EMI in Korea. Second, in terms of the transition from high schools to higher education, parental SES was significant in predicting college entry, but became marginally significant after considering high school type in the regression models. Vocational high school students were less likely to go to a college, although even the disadvantaged students typically went to a college rather than not going to a college. Interestingly, the differences in the predicted probabilities of college entry by high school type were greater than those by SES. Third, considering the different types of college enrollment, results from the regression models showed significant socioeconomic disparities in attending more selective higher education institutions (i.e., 4-year universities in the capital area > 4-year universities in the non-capital area > 2-year junior colleges), even after controlling for students’ academic achievement and high school type attended. However, academic high school students typically went to 4-year universities in the non-capital area, while vocational high school students typically went to 2-year junior colleges, regardless of their SES, again questioning the EMI in Korea. These findings highlight the importance of considering the organizational structures in the earlier stages of education when applying the EMI hypothesis in nations like South Korea as it plays a substantial role in shaping the outcomes in later educational transition.